Men’s lacrosse falls to St. Mary’s College 10-14

By: Michael Pataki

Staff Writer

The men’s lacrosse team lost their last home game of the season 10-14 in a tight match against St. Mary’s College on April 16. 

This was also senior day for the Eagles who sent off Grant Cragg, J.D. Nozemack, Sam Allen, Kevin Cruz, Sam Pugliese, Kristophe Newman, Noah Smith, Ethan Rosenberger and Logan Green in front of their last home crowd. 

The game was back and forth all the way through the third period, which ended with the Eagles in the lead at a score of 10-9. Once again, the teams went goal for goal at the start of the final quarter, but it was St. Mary’s College who pulled away in the end by scoring the last three goals of the game giving them the win at 10-14. 

The Eagles’ record is 8-7 after Saturday’s game. 

Head Coach Drew Delaney described some of the challenges the team faced in the first half, as St. Mary’s defense was doing a good job of disrupting their attacks on goal. He commended the opposing team’s success at maintaining their advantage once they managed to break the tie. 

“Once they had a two-goal lead, they did a nice job slowing the game with long, patient possessions,” said Delaney. “That forced us to extend pressure and we were not successful in creating the turnovers we needed to close the gap.” 

The loss was tough for all members of the team, but in particular for the seniors for whom this was their last home game.

“It was emotional because I’ve been playing with the other seniors for four years now and have had some great memories along the way,” said senior business administration major Sam Pugliese. “Overall, it was a great way to honor all of us for what we’ve done for the program.”

A competitive rivalry has been growing between UMW and St. Mary’s with multiple close game over the past few years. The match-up a year prior ended with UMW losing by a single point in overtime. 

Coming into the game on Saturday, the Eagles were hoping for a better outcome that would also put them in a good position heading into post-season play. 

“A win against St Mary’s will take some weight off our shoulders heading into the final stretch of our season, including games against our conference rivals Salisbury University and Christopher Newport University,” said senior communication and digital studies major Grant Cragg before the match. “Salisbury is currently the number one team in the country and CNU is number two in the country.”

Delaney was satisfied with how his team performed.

“Saturday was a great game and certainly close until the end,” he said. “We were able to score efficiently in the first half, despite having fewer possessions.”

The team is focusing on moving forward and getting prepared for their upcoming and difficult matches against Christopher Newport and Salisbury. Christopher Newport had a strong win against Salisbury last Saturday with a score of 17-7. 

Pugliese shared some of the team’s strategy and mindset heading into their game against Christopher Newport. 

“We understand they are the number one team in the nation right now but we aren’t afraid of the challenge,” he said. “As long as we play like we’re not afraid of them, we can give them a battle.”